Continuing a drive that Russian lawmakers have previously slammed as "de-russification," Kyrgyzstan has taken down two more statues of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin and removed his name from several streets and schools.
Officials in the southern city of Osh removed towering 25-meter Lenin statue -- the tallest in Central Asia -- in June. Days later, another Lenin monument was lifted off its pedestal in the neighboring Jalal-Abat region.
In July, Lenin Street in central Osh was renamed for Alymbek Datka, a prominent 19th-century Kyrgyz political figure. Local authorities say the Lenin statue, which stood as a major landmark of Osh for 50 years, will be replaced by a 95-meter national flagpole.
The Kyrgyz government has proposed renaming all Lenin Streets across the country and replacing them with references to Manas, a legendary Kyrgyz hero.
A protester looks at a statue of Lenin in Bishkek in 2021.
It also suggested reviewing the names of villages and other geographic landmarks.
More than three decades after Kyrgyzstan gained independence, the country still has arguably the most Soviet-era toponyms and statues of its neighbors in Central Asia.
The nation's capital, Bishkek, comprises four districts, each with a name referencing the communist era: Lenin, Sverdlov (named after a Soviet politician), Birinchi Mai (May 1), and Octyabr (October, in honor of the October Revolution).
Calls by Kyrgyz officials to rename the Bishkek districts have angered Russian politicians, who once decried it as dangerous first step in a "very negative process" that must be stopped "at the earliest stage."
SEE ALSO: Kyrgyzstan Promotes 'Traditional Names' Amid New De-Russification DriveDivided Public Opinion
Most Kyrgyz support the campaign to replace the communist-era toponyms with Kyrgyz ones. But there are also critics, both among officials and the public -- especially the older generation -- who oppose the drive.
Osh resident Nurzhigit Azhibekov told RFE/RL that he supports the authorities’ decision to remove the statues and rename the streets, saying, “It’s time to leave [the Soviet ideology] behind.”
“Times change, people change, and some historical changes happen in every country. We must move forward,” said Roza, a local schoolteacher who gave only her first name.
But another Osh resident, Sydyk Mamytov, is among those who oppose the campaign.
Mamytov said he believes that Lenin and the Soviet Union played an important role for the Kyrgyz people who “acquired formal statehood for the first time under Soviet rule, with defined borders and institutions,” though sovereignty remained firmly in Moscow’s hands.
The Osh city council welcomed the renaming of Lenin Street as a "historic step."
The city's mayor, Zhenishbek Toktorbaev, earlier this year called for the renaming of numerous schools in Kyrgyzstan that still bear the names of Russian and Soviet figures such as cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, writer Maksim Gorky, and Bolshevik revolutionaries Sergei Kirov and Mikhail Kalinin, among many others.
An image from social media shows the Lenin statue being dismantled in Osh.
In Bishkek, deputy speaker of parliament Nurbek Sydygaliev called for a statue of Lenin to be removed from the capital's Old Square.
But critics say Kyrgyzstan should not try to erase its Soviet past, which was part of the nation's history.
Kyrgyz political observer Amantur Manapbaev warned the nationwide renaming campaign is a deeply "divisive" issue and "a waste of public money."
Communist Party leader Iskhak Masaliev condemned the campaign as a "big mistake."
SEE ALSO: Kyrgyz Politicians Annoyed Over Russian Anger At Possible Soviet-Era Name ChangesRepeating The 'Ukraine Scenario'
In Moscow, Russian lawmaker Sergei Obukhov has demanded the Russian Foreign Ministry take measures against Kyrgyzstan for what he described as Osh authorities' "unfriendly action in regard to" Russia.
Obukhov, a high-ranking member of the Russian Communist Party, noted the considerable leverage Moscow wields over Kyrgyzstan. Russia is host to hundreds of thousands of workers from the impoverished, remittances-dependent Kyrgyzstan.
The Lenin monument in the center of Jalal-Abad was also removed this summer.
"Russia not only welcomes Kyrgyz citizens, it also provides their children with the right to free education," Obukhov wrote on Telegram on July 15. He said there are about 111,000 children of Kyrgyz migrants studying at Russian schools for free.
Obukhov claimed Kyrgyzstan is repeating the "Ukraine scenario: first de-communization and the next, de-russification."
Authorities in Osh, meanwhile, stressed that the issue "should not be politicized" and downplayed the removal of the Lenin statue. They said it was part of routine city planning "aimed at improving the architectural and aesthetic appearance" of the area.
In a statement, the officials said the monument would be relocated to another part of the city.